All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Whenever I agree to start working with a new client, one of the items I include in my consultant contract is a clause that states the client MUST consult with me before he or she spends any money on unapproved advertising. I include this clause for 3 reasons:

1. I don't want my clients to get ripped-off by a scam.

2. I don't want my clients wasting their money on ineffective advertising.

3. I want to make sure the advertising is conducive to our overall marketing strategy.

Anyway, one day I got a call from one my clients, a good friend of mine who owns a string of local insurance agencies. He was all excited because some telemarketer contacted him and told him that he could be the exclusive insurance agency featured in the local Superstore Supermarket on huge digital Plasma LCD screens.

The catch? All he had to do was commit to a 12 month contract at $299 per month. He wanted my permission to commit to the contract.

My first instinct was to tell my client not to throw away his money on that type of advertising because it doesn't work. But from the excitement in his voice, I could sense he wouldn't have believed me and needed to be convinced.

So I instructed my client to meet me at the Superstore where the screens were set up so that we could check things out together.

An hour later, we met in front of the store and went inside. We spotted the huge Plasma screens almost immediately. They were beautifully displayed on the wall at the end of select checkout counters. And the advertisements being displayed were eye-catching and slickly produced.

My client was like a kid in a toy store. I'd never seen him so excited. I had to admit, the screens and the advertisements were extremely impressive.

Anyway, after a few minutes of viewing the advertisements, we exited the store and waited by the exit doors. As shoppers exited the store, I asked them if they had noticed the huge Plasma screens on the wall at the end of the checkout counters.

They all acknowledged they had. I then asked them if they could remember any of the local advertisers they had seen. The shoppers couldn't recall a single local advertiser.

I continued my survey for about 45 minutes, talking to dozens of shoppers. Not one shopper could recall the name of a single local advertiser they had seen on the screens. I turned and looked at my client. From the look on his face, I knew I didn't have to say a word. I had effectively proven my point...

All that glitters is not gold.

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

How to Make Money Online

Many so-called Internet Marketing gurus make a ton of money selling you their "secret" money-making programs. It seems like every other week they're launching another new program.

Why? Because people keep buying them.

Are these programs bad? Not all of them. But they're not real secrets either.

Well, I'm going to tell you the real secret to making money online - something the gurus will never tell you. Because if they did, they'd be out of business. You wouldn't need them anymore.

Ready? Here it is:

If you want to make money online, you have to master the art of self-promotion.

That's it. That's the real secret to making money online or offline.

If you master the art of self-promotion, it doesn't matter what your product or service is. You will make money with it - period.

So how do you master the art of self-promotion?

Easy...go right to the source. Marketing expert Ilise Benum has written an excellent book titled, The Art of Self-Promotion. No, it's not another e-book. It's a real book - the kind you can physically hold in your hands.

Anyway, if you're serious about making money online, do yourself a favor. Empower yourself and buy the book. More importantly, faithfully apply what's in the book. You can pick it up on Amazon for just a few bucks!

NOTE: This article is also available in video version on my YouTube channel.

How Relevant is Your Website's Content?

Question: Do you know why the vast majority of people use the Internet?

Answer: The vast majority of people use the Internet to do some type of research - to look for specific information. Contrary to popular belief, most people don't necessarily go online looking to buy anything - though they often end up doing so. And unless you understand the real reason why most people use the Internet, you will never be able to maximize your website's potential.

It's quite simple really. If most people are looking for relevant, free information, then you should give them relevant, free information - and plenty of it. Provide visitors to your website with plenty of relevant, free, quality content, and refresh it regularly.

What exactly is relevant, free content?

Well, relevant, free content consists of many different forms, from articles to free reports to free downloads, and everything in between. My favorite type of free content is articles. Yours may be be free podcasts.

But whatever form(s) of free content you choose to make available on your site, it should be relevant to what you actually do. For example, if you're an SEO expert, then the content on your site should be about or closely related to search engine optimization.

Or if you're a real estate agent, then you should have content relevant to the real estate industry, and so on and so forth.

I know you're probably thinking, this is basic, common sense information. And you'd be right. Except, you'd be surprised how many websites I come across that intentionally try to trick you with non-relevant content, just to get you to click on their link, so that they can sell you something.

How many times have you searched for something, only to click on the link to find out the website's description didn't come close to matching up with the actual content on the page?

Perhaps you landed on a web page that was nothing but one long sales letter trying to sell you an e-book of some sort. Or perhaps, you landed on a page that tried to force you to give up your name and e-mail address in order to receive some free report that had absolutely nothing to do with what you were searching for in the first place.

It happens more often than you realize. Why do you think Google places such a high premium on relevancy? You should too.

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

Does Your Website Have Message Discipline?

In politics, regardless of your political affiliation, you often hear the term "message discipline." What does message discipline mean? In a nutshell, it means being disciplined enough to stay on message, regardless of the circumstances.

Unfortunately, lack of message discipline is the bane of many Internet Marketing businesses.

For example, if you visit my website, it's clear as day that I provide free marketing tips. A blind person can see that. I don't muddy the water, and I NEVER, EVER confuse the issue. I'm extremely message disciplined. However, with many websites, you don't have a clue what their marketing message is.

Do you know why that is? It's because many marketers don't have a clue what their message is themselves. And if you're not clear in your own mind about your marketing message, how can you effectively communicate that message to the masses? Quite frankly, you can't.

For example, the other day, I visited a pet grooming website. The very first thing I saw when I landed on their site was a banner ad for DirecTV. In fact, the website had all kinds of irrelevant, distracting banners and buttons. I saw ads for Avon cosmetics, Amazon and more.

Question: What does any of those ads have to do with pet grooming?

Answer: Nothing. Total lack of message discipline.

How about your website? Does it have message discipline, or is it all over the place? Is there any question at all what your website is all about - what your marketing message is? Ask your friends and/or associates to take a discerning look at your website, and tell you if it's clear what your website is all about.

If they tell you they aren't sure, "Houston, we have a problem!"

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

3 Website Readability Faux Pas

During the course of my work day, I visit dozens of websites, both for business and entertainment purposes. Far too often, I come across websites that are committing major readability faux pas. For example:

1. Reverse Print. In case you don't know what reverse print is, it's white or light text on a black or dark colored background. This is a major readability faux pas. Why? Because it's murder on the eyes that's why. And no, that's not my opinion, it's a fact. Research has shown that heavy doses of reverse print irritates the reader and causes eye fatigue. Black or dark text on a white or light-colored background is easier on the eyes, and much more reader-friendly. If you want to use reverse print, use it in moderation.

2. Too Much Clutter. I recently visited a website whose homepage was so cluttered, my eyes didn't know where to look first. I'm not exaggerating. There was no white space to be found anywhere...the page was that cluttered. Do you know what I did? Instead of hanging around trying to sort through all the clutter, I left. I wonder how many visitors to that website did the exact same thing? Don't over-crowd your pages with text and graphics. Sometimes, less is more.

3. Endless Paragraphs. Research has shown that Internet users are notorious scanners? It's true. They'll scan your content first, before deciding whether or not to actually read it. That's why it's important to break up your text into short, easily digestible paragraphs. You can easily accomplish this by using compelling headlines and subheads.

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

New Subscribers: Money in the Bank

Your website should be designed with a specific goal in mind, as to what you want your visitors to do. For example, the number one thing I want my visitors to do is subscribe to receive my marketing tips updates.

To achieve this goal, I placed my subscription form at the top right hand side of my blog, right underneath the search box, so that it's highly visible and easy to find.

I'm sure you're probably wondering, why is my first priority getting new subscribers, as opposed to making sales?

The answer is simple: Internet Marketing is a numbers game. And the historical data has proven that the overwhelming majority of visitors to your website will leave without purchasing anything. That's just a fact. The numbers aren't in your favor. It's also a fact, consumers need to be exposed to your marketing message a minimum of seven times before they purchase what you're offering.

Again, the numbers aren't in your favor. Therefore, it's absolutely critical that you flip the script and make the odds more favorable to your situation. And the best way to do that is to give yourself multiple opportunities to convert your visitors into paying customers.

How? By keeping the name of your website in the uppermost of their minds with a newsletter, or blog updates that they have to subscribe to in order to receive it. Your subscribers are the lifeblood of your business. And if you cultivate them properly, they will generate tens of thousands of dollars in sales for you in future earnings.

That's guaranteed, money in the bank income you can't afford to ignore or take for granted. Getting new subscribers should always be your number one priority.

Why You Should Test Your Marketing

When it comes to marketing, I'm a fanatical tester. I test different advertising methods. I test the color of my websites. I test font styles and sizes. When I write articles and ads, I test headlines and copy. I test forum signatures. I test the various website analytics programs for accuracy. I test domain names for SEO effectiveness. I test mailing list services for efficiency. In a nutshell, I test virtually everything, as it relates to the marketing of my business.

Why am I such a fanatical tester? Because I discovered a long time ago that testing allows my business enterprises to be as efficient and profitable as they possibly can be. Or in the words of Pat Benatar, testing allows me to "hit you with my best shot!" Testing is crucial to your overall business success. I can't emphasize that enough. In my opinion, you should test every aspect of your marketing to make sure you're obtaining maximum effciency and profitability.

But don't just test blindly. Closely monitor and record your results, so that your findings are as accurate as possible. Google's Website Optimizer is an excellent free software for testing virtually every aspect of your marketing.

One last thing: Testing isn't something you do every now and then. For best results, you should test your marketing constantly.

NOTE: This article is also available in video version on my YouTube channel.